Jun 30

Written by:
6/30/2005 12:00 AM 

Greetings from the Cripple River Gold Camp! Many people ask me, “Where exactly is the Cripple River Camp?” So this year I wanted to give you some of the particulars. Our camp is located twelve miles west of the city of Nome Alaska. Nome is on the Bering Sea on the south coast of the Seward Peninsula facing Norton Sound, and has a population of 3505 residents in an area of 14 square miles of land. Interestingly enough, the city of Nome is located in western Alaska just 102 miles below the Arctic Circle, 539 air miles northwest of Anchorage yet only 161 miles east of Russia. Small and homey now, at the turn of the century the influx of people during the gold rush made Nome the most populated city in Alaska. The local newspaper, The Nome Nugget, is the oldest newspaper in Alaska.

Last winter Nome had several severe winter storms, one of which was the worst in over thirty-five years. After beating up the town, the storm worked its way down the beach and visited the Cripple River area. Our early volunteer crew, who start the process of opening camp for the summer, discovered they had their work cut out for them. To get camp ready in time for this summer’s prospecting season required extra work. While the severe winter storms on the Bering Sea did less damage here at Cripple River than in Nome and the surrounding areas, our camp didn’t escape unscathed. Beach boxes stored well away from the water were picked up by the high storm tides and carried up the Cripple River and deposited several hundred yards up-river from camp. (Had they washed the other way people in Russia might still be trying to figure out what in the world all those wooden boxy things are!) High banker’s were picked up and relocated in our lake. Some storage containers were flooded, and several buildings were undercut and slightly damaged. Our ATV road to the beach no longer exists; instead we now have a nice sheer drop off of about twenty feet! Tom and Cindy Massie lost their front yard and driveway, washed away by the storm’s high tides. Now the King Crabs, fish, seals and walruses are enjoying their new underwater front yard, (donated by Tom and Cindy) about 100 feet below the surface of the Bering Sea.

This year our construction crew has been busy repairing damage as well as building replacements for items lost in the storms. They also have built ten new hooches of varying size. Every year our camp just gets better and better!

Now, what you have been waiting for, the Beach Master’s report by Lindsey Burgess! The reports of the amount of gold on the beach have been very good, with chunky coarse gold and the occasional small nugget being found. It looks to be a very good summer for our beach prospectors. I was told that after the big storm that left gold on the beach, there was a second storm that covered up the material with another layer of sand. Once the top layer is worked through, you dig to the second and richer layer of black sand. Metal detecting is quite popular this year, as the storms could have washed treasures up onto the beach, or maybe even unburied hidden gold further inland.

Camp Manager Jim Arnold is excited about this year’s possibilities, “everything in camp is going great, the weather has been perfect, and people are finding good gold. It looks to be a great year.”

Gold is also being found in unusual places. Hugh “Tink” Durgin, from Monroe Wisconsin came to the Cripple River gold camp back when it really was a primitive camp in 1993, and again in 1994. He has now returned to our camp after a ten year hiatus, and he is surprised and shocked by the changes that have been made. “I didn’t even know the place. When I was here before we went to town once a week to shower and shave, and it cost us about $16.00, now we can shower in camp whenever we want. The food is much better too, and with all the conveniences the camp is very luxurious.” This year Tink found one of the first nuggets of the summer. He was prospecting down by the old outhouses near the beach, in an area ‘rearranged’ by the storms. This nice nugget, almost a rounded rectangle in shape, has good weight for its size, and is very attractive. (Of course gold nuggets are kinda like puppies and kittens in that you never see an ugly one, as they are all nice and cute.) Way to go Tink!

Fishing has been excellent this year, with the large Dolly Varden Trout biting ‘to beat the band” and when hooked fighting like Bull Dogs. Some people like their delicate flavored meat even better than salmon. Of course salmon are tasty too. In the lower forty-eight a lot of salmon sold in the stores are farm raised with little taste, but once you’ve eaten the real thing, you will be spoiled for life.

The weather, (always an important and serious subject in Alaska) has been quite varied. Rain and mist one day, followed by hot bright sunny days next, followed with a day or so of beautiful sun, with a cold wind blowing. The saying if you don’t like the weather, just wait a while and it will change has certainly been true this year. When leaving camp for the day, wise people are taking rain gear AND sunscreen and bug spray. Be prepared!

There have been wildlife sightings both near camp, and on the trail to the outer camps, with frequent photo opportunities. As many of these animals aren’t yet afraid of people you can be tempted to get way too close in an attempt to get that “great” picture. Please remember that these are WILD animals and if frightened or provoked they will react with lightening speed, and in defending themselves or their young, they can and will injure you. Give these “children of nature” a little distance and respect, and keep both of you safe and sound.

Chip, our talented camp cook, was carrying supplies into the chow hall from the storage container just outside the back door. Planning to be right back, she left the door to the container open for just a few minutes. When she came back to pick up a second load of supplies a huge Raven was in the container and he or she had pecked a large hole into a box of oatmeal and this bird was gobbling the cereal down with record speed. When the bird saw Chip it flew away in a panic. I guess the black bird was familiar with nursery rhymes, especially the one that goes in part…”four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie”, and decided not to press its’ luck. Chip, a true flower and nature lover had a good chuckle at this bird’s inventiveness in getting a good free meal.

Yesterday, our good friends from the lone star state, (The Texas Chum-Pat, Kenny and “The Crew”) took an ATV trip to the Ketchmark Camp. These men enjoy riding out and exploring the area, and at The Cripple River Gold Camp our horses are disguised as ATV’s. With trusty cameras at the ready, these fun loving men are always in the mood for adventure. On this trip, they noticed a mother moose and her recently born calf. This calf was probably less than a week old, and was still bright red in color. As they stopped on the trail to watch this mother and child, the noise of their ‘horses’ alerted Mother Moose, and seeing all these long tall Texan’s she decided to take her calf to safety before they roped and branded her and her baby! As the moose trotted through the river, their feet splashed water every which way, making the photographs the men took of her and baby truly spectacular! The Texas Chum has made Cripple River an annual trip, and we really look forward to seeing them here!

News flash! One of these men, Frankie Taylor, while picking up a vial or two of garnets for his wife found a nice, small, round gold nugget just lying on the ground in the garnet hunting material. Gold IS where you find it!

Many of the beautiful flowers are getting a late start, blooming both around camp and in Nome. More unusual still, according to some local residents, the Alaska Cotton grass is blooming before the large Fire Weed. This occurrence is said to be a natural predictor of a fall weather change. In the Anchorage area the tall Fire Weed is in bloom but has already filled out to the top of the blossom stalk. This, according to local wisdom means that this year we will have a very early and very hard winter with many storms. Much like when the caterpillars have lots of furry fuzz, or the beavers build thicker dams in the lower forty-eight. We will just have to wait and see.

Well, time for me to go exploring again, and get some good pictures of flowers. Until next time, may your life and the bottom of your gold pan turn golden.

Arctic Annie